Clothes dryer cabinet construction



Nov. 23, 1965 G. J. ALABACK CLOTHES DRYER CABINET CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 30, 1961 azewzjizazm Q fiwmeg Nov. 23, 1965 G. J. ALABACK CLOTHES DRYER CABINET CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30 1961 Nov. 23, 1965 ALABACK 3,218,732

United States Patent Office Patented Nov. 23, 1955 3,218,732 CLGTHES DRYER (IABINET CQNSTRUCTHGN Glenn .1. Alabaclr, St. Joseph, Mich, assignor to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed June 30, 1961, Ser. No. 121,004 6 Claims. (Cl. 34133) This invention relates to dryers such as home type clothes dryers and in particular to cabinet construction for use therein.

In the conventional home type clothes dryer, the outer cabinet may include a panel integrally defining the two sides and front of the cabinet or completely separate side and front panels. A relatively heavy base plate is provided for carrying the drying apparatus and mechanism within the cabinet. These cabinet constructions present several serious problems such as difficulty of maintetrance and service of the apparatus and mechanism therein. The necessity for obtaining access to the apparatus and mechanism from the rear of such a cabinet is particularly disadvantageous when the dryer is built-in and where the dryer is installed with exhaust ducts, etc. extending rearwardly therefrom. Another disadvantage of a cabinet construction having integral side and front panels is the relatively high cost thereof. Still further, such constructions require relatively expensive tooling changes to accommodate the numerous model redesigns, especially on the front panel, conventionally made each year by the manufacturers of such dryers.

The present invention is directed to elimination of these serious disadvantages in the known cabinet constructions. Thus, a principal feature of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved dryer cabinet construction.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of such a cabinet construction including a U-shaped wall member defining a bottom wall and apposed upright side walls of the cabinet, and a removable front wall memher.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such a dryer construction wherein the drying apparatus is installed within the cabinet for free access thereto upon removal of the front wall member, as for servicing the apparatus.

Still another feature of the invention is provision of such a dryer construction wherein the drying apparatus includes a drum rotatably carried on a bulkhead within the cabinet to extend forwardly of the bulkhead, with the means for supporting the drum on the bulkhead arranged for assembly and disassembly from the front of the cabinet.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such a dryer construction including a motor having drive means forwardly of the bulkhead and a drive belt driven by the drive means and extending about the periphery of the drum for rotating the same.

Still another feature of the invention is the provision of such a dryer construction wherein the motor further includes drive means rearwardly of the bulkhead for driving operating mechanism disposed behind the bulkhead.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a dryer construction embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevation thereof with the rear panel removed;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view thereof with the top wall member removed and with portions broken away;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged horizontal section thereof taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line 55 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the U-shaped wall member.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawing, a dryer construction generally designated 10 is shown to comprise a cabinet 11 including a front wall member 12 provided with a loading opening 13 selectively closed by a door 14 for providing controlled access to a drying drum 15 within the cabinet. As shown in FIGURE 1, the cabinet further includes a top wall member 16 and a control panel 17 upstanding at the rear of the top wall member 16 and including suitable controls 18 for controlling the operation of the dryer.

The basic support structure of the cabinet 11 is afforded by a one piece, U-shaped Wall member 19 defining a bottom wall 20, and a pair of apposed upright side walls 21 and 22. Wall member 19 is preferably formed of a single piece of sheet metal or the like. Side wall 21 is reinforced at the front end by an inturned flange 23, at the rear end by an inturned flange 24, and at the top thereof by inturned flange 25. Side wall 22 is similarly reinforced at the front end by an inturned flange 26, at the rear end by inturned flange 27, and at the top by an inturned flange 28. The bottom wall may be suitably em bossedto impart additional rigidity and is provided at the rear end with an upturned flange 29 and at the front end with a corresponding upturned flange 30, the ends of the upturned flanges 29 and 30 being secured as by welding to the lower ends of the adjacent side wall flanges 23, 24, 26 and 27.

A top rear panel 31 extends across the upper rear end of the space S defined by the U-shaped wall member 19, having its opposite ends secured, as by welding, to the rear flanges 24 and 27 of the side walls 21 and 22. A pair of gusset plates 32 are secured to an upper inturned flange 33 of the rear panel, if desired, and to the inturned flanges 25 and 28 of the side walls, as by welding. A bulkhead 34 extends transversely across the space S, having its lower end 35 carried by and secured to the bottom wall 20 and having the opposite sides of the upper portion thereof secured to the gusset plates 32 as by screws. As best seen in FIGURE 2, the lower right portion of the bulkhead, as viewed from the front of the dryer, is cut away at 36 to provide a clearance opening for an electric motor 37 carried on the bottom wall 24 Operating mechanism such as blower 38, blower outlet 39 and air heater duct 40 housing an electric heating element or gas burner (not shown), all of conventional construction, may be mounted on the rear of the bulkhead. The motor 37 is provided with a rearwardly projecting shaft portion 41 on which is mounted a suitable pulley 42 for driving a belt 43 to drive the connecting pulley 44 of blower 38.

The dryer drum 15 is mounted on the forward side of the bulkhead 34 by a universal bearing joint 46 for rotation about a horizontal axis in space S between bulkhead 34 and front wall member 12. The drum is driven by a belt 47 extended about the periphery thereof and in turn driven by a pulley 48 carried on a forward extension 49 of the shaft of motor 37 disposed forwardly of bulkhead 34. The forward end of the drum is provided with an annular flange 50 slidably associated with a complementary angular flange 51 defining the access opening 13, by means of journalling or front bearing devices 52 on the upper portion of the flange 51. A front air seal Stia is provided between the drum 15 and the front panel 12 and a rear air I seal (not shown) is provided between the rear peripheral edge of the drum and the circular depressed portion of the bulkhead.

More specifically, universal joint 46 comprises a ball 53 retained on a post or stub shaft 54 fixed to the bulkhead 34 to extend horizontally forwardly therefrom. For facilitated manufacture, the post 54 may be secured to an adaptor plate 55, in turn, secured to the bulkhead wall to extend across an opening 56 therein. The rear wall 57 of drum is provided with a forwardly depressed portion 58 provided with a central opening 59 selectively closed by a removable cap 60 after the drum 15 is assembled to stub shaft 54. A mounting device 61 is secured to the drum rear wall 57, as by Welding, and is provided with segmentally spherical shoes 62 and 62a housing and cooperating with the ball 53 to support the drum 15 for universal movement about the axis of post 54. Segmental spherical shoe 62a is attached to shoe 62 to house the ball 53 by screw 62b. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the ball 53 is retained on post 54 by a retaining washer 63 held against the forward end of the post 54 by a suitable screw 64. Opening 59 of drum rear wall 57 is aligned with the post 54 permitting access to the screw 64 when desired.

Access to space S forwardly of bulkhead 34, as for servicing the drum 15 or motor 37, is obtained by removing the front wall member 12. For this purpose, the front wall member is secured to the vertical inturned flanges 23 and 26 of the side walls 21 and 22 of wall member 19 by a pair of self-tapping screws 65 at the upper end of the wall member 12 and a pair of conventional spring or bayonet clips 66 (FIGURE 2) at the lower end of the wall member. The top wall member 16 is hingedly movably carried on the wall member 19 (not shown) providing access to the screws 65.

As best seen in FIGURE 4, bottom wall 20 is embossed to provide substantial rigidity while permitting the entire U-shaped wall member 19 to be formed of relatively thin material such as sheet steel. The embossments generally designated 67 may be arranged, as shown herein, to provide reinforced support of the elements of the dryer such as the bulkhead 34 and the drive motor 37. The rear panel 31, as shown in FIGURE 6, secured to the side walls 21 and 22 stabilizes the upper portion of the U- shaped wall member providing improved rigidity to the frame construction.

Should it be desired to remove drum 45, the operator, after having removed front panel 12, merely removes cap 60 from opening 59 in the rear wall of the drum as by prying the cap loose with a suitable screw driver. This exposes the head of screw 64 which may be removed by a suitable unthreading operation to permit withdrawal of the drum 15 and ball 53 from association with post 54. The front wall member 12 is removed by firstly removing screws 65 and then urging the front wall member forwardly to release the lower portion thereof in engagement with the spring or bayonet clips 66. The drive belt 47 may be disengaged from the motor pulley 48 and the drum removed from the space 32 by a forward axial movement.

To reassemble the dryer, a reversal of the above described operation is effected. As the belt 47 is readily accessible from the open front of the cabinet, the belt may be readily reinstalled in association with the pulley 48 and drum 15. Further, as the ball 53 is readily movable axially back on to post 54, the ball joint 46 is easily reassembled.

Thus, the U-shaped frame, or wall, member 19 provides a simple, rigid, and economical frame construction permitting facilitated installation and removal of the cabinet front and drum as for servicing the dryer. Further, the improved frame construction permits design changes to be made in the cabinet front without requiring retooling for the frame construction. This improved facility of use and design change is provided while also providing rigidity and long life of the frame construction.

As the front wall member 12 is separably associated with the U-shaped wall member 19, redesign of the front wall member when desired, such as in model changes, may be done effectively with minimum cost as only the tooling for the front wall member is affected.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, it is my intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A dryer construction comprising: a U-shaped wall member formed of a single piece of material and including a generally planar bottom wall and spaced, generally planar upright side walls defining an apparatus space; drying aparatus in said space including a dryer drum, means for providing drying air to said dryer drum, and drive means for rotating said dryer drum and operating said air providing means; a top wall closing said apparatus space at the top of said dryer; a front wall for closing said apparatus space at the front of said dryer; means for removably securing said front wall to said U-shaped wall member to close said apparatus space and maintain front portions of said side walls in fixed spaced relationship; a transverse bulkhead extending between said side walls forwardly adjacent rear portions of said side walls to maintain said side walls in fixed spaced relationship; means on said bulkhead for rotatably carrying said drum to ex tend axially between said bulkhead and said front wall means; means on said front wall providing selective access to the interior of the drum through the front end thereof; and means mounting said drive means in said apparatus space for service thereof through the front end of said dryer upon removal of said front wall.

2. The dryer construction of claim 1 wherein said drum carrying means includes means providing for assembly and disassembly thereof from within said dryer drum thereby providing for installation and removal of said drum through the front end of said dryer upon removal of said front wall.

3. The dryer construction of claim 1 wherein said drive means includes drum driving means forwardly of said bulkhead providing for installation and removal thereof through the front end of said dryer upon removal of said front wall.

4. The dryer construction of claim 1 wherein said drive means includes drum driving means forwardly of said bulkhead providing for installation and removal thereof through the front end of said dryer upon removal of said front wall, and means for driving said means for providing drying air to said drum rearwardly of said bulkhead.

5. The dryer construction of claim 1 including means removably securing the top wall to said side walls.

6. A dryer construction comprising: a U-shaped wall member formed of a single piece of material and including a generally planar bottom wall and spaced, generally planar upright side walls defining an apparatus space having a front end, rear end and top end; drying apparatus in said space including a dryer drum, means for providing drying air to said dryer drum, and drive means for rotating said dryer drum and operating said air providing means; a top wall closing said upper end of said apparatus space; a front wall for closing said front end of said apparatus space; means for removably securing said front wall to said U-shaped wall member to close said front end of said apparatus space and maintain front portions of said side walls in fixed spaced relationship; a transverse bulkhead extending between said side walls forwardly adjacent said rear end of said apparatus space to maintain said side walls in fixed spaced relationship forwardly adjacent said rear end of said apparatus space; means on said bulkhead for rotatably carrying said drum to extend axially between said bulkhead and said front wall means; means on said front wall for rotatably supporting the front end of the drum; means on said front wall providing selective access to the interior of the drum through the front end thereof; and means mounting said drive means in said space for service thereof through said front end of said space upon removal of said front wall, said bottom and side walls having inturned flanges References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,607,418 11/1926 Wheeler 34-133 2,314,966 3/1943 Astle 15928 X 2,353,827 7/ 1944 Huebsch 34133 X 10 2,361,297 10/1944 Kutsche 3479 2,5 62,441 7/ 195 1 Strohman 26333 2,731,167 1/1956 Moore. 2,778,124 1/1957 Kautfman 34133 Reiter 34133 Racheter 26333 Smith 34133 Geldhof 34133 X Hullar 263-33 Plumer 34133 Long et a1. 3477 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1/ 1945 Great Britain.

PERCY L. PATRICK, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, NORMAN YUDKOFF,

Examiners. 

1. A DRYER CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: A U-SHAPED WALL MEMBER FORMED OF A SINGLE PIECE OF MATERIAL AND INCLUDING A GENERALLY PLANAR BOTTOM WALL AND SPACED, GENERALLY PLANAR UPRIGHT SIDE WALLS DEFINING AN APPARATUS SPACE; DRYING APPARATUS IN SAID SPACE INCLUDING A DRYER DRUM, MEANS FOR PROVIDING DRYING AIR TO SAID DRYER DRUM, SAID DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRYER DRUM AND OPERATING SAID AIR PROVIDING MEANS; A TOP WALL CLOSING SAID APPARATUS SPACE AT THE TOP OF SAID DRYER; A FRONT WALL FOR CLOSING SAID APPARATUS SPACE AT THE FRONT OF SAID DRYER; MEANS FOR REMOVABLY SECURING SAID FRONT WALL TO SAID U-SHAPED WALL MEMBER TO CLOSE SAID APPARATUS SPACE AND MAINTAIN FRONT PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALLS IN FIXED SPACED RELATIONSHIP; A TRANSVERSE BULKHEAD EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS FORWARDLY ADJACENT REAR PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALLS TO MAINTAIN SAID SIDE WALLS IN FIXED SPACED RELATIONSHIP; MEANS ON SAID BULKHEAD FOR ROTATABLY CARRYING SAID DRUM TO EXTEND AXIALLY BETWEEN SAID BULKHEAD AND SAID FRONT WALL MEANS; MEANS ON SAID FRONT WALL PROVIDING SELECTIVE ACCESS TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE DRUM THROUGH THE FRONT END THEREOF; AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID DRIVE MEANS IN SAID APPARATUS SPACE FOR SERVICE THEREOF THROUGH THE FRONT END OF SAID DRYER UPON REMOVAL OF SAID FRONT WALL. 